Mobiwe phone operator

A mobiwe phone operator, wirewess provider, or carrier is a mobiwe tewecommunicationscompany dat provides wirewess Internet GSM services for mobiwe device users. The operator gives a SIM card to de customer who inserts it into de mobiwe device to gain access to de service.

As of May 2016[update] (and for years before), de worwd's wargest individuaw mobiwe operator by subscribers is China Mobiwe wif over 835 miwwion mobiwe subscribers.[1][2] Over 50 mobiwe operators have over 10 miwwion subscribers each, and over 150 mobiwe operators had at weast one miwwion subscribers by de end of 2009.[3] In February 2010, dere were 4.6 biwwion mobiwe subscribers, a number dat is estimated to grow. Totaw mobiwe‐cewwuwar subscriptions reached awmost 6 biwwion by end 2011, corresponding to a gwobaw penetration of 86%.

Prior to 1973, cewwuwar mobiwe device technowogy was wimited to devices instawwed in cars and oder vehicwes.[4] The first fuwwy automated tewephone cawwing system for vehicwes was waunched in Sweden in 1960, cawwed MTA (mobiwe tewephone system A). Cawws from de car were direct diaw, whereas incoming cawws reqwired an operator to determine which base station de device was currentwy at. In 1962, an upgraded version cawwed Mobiwe System B (MTB) was introduced. In 1971, de MTD version was waunched, opening for severaw different brands of eqwipment and gaining commerciaw success.[5][6] The network remained open untiw 1983 and stiww had 600 customers when it cwosed.

In 1958, devewopment began on a simiwar service in de USSR, de Awtay system for motorists.[7] In 1963, de service started in Moscow, and by 1970, was depwoyed in 30 cities across de USSR. Versions of de Awtay system are stiww in use today as a trunking system in some parts of Russia.

In 1959 a private tewephone company wocated in Brewster, Kansas, USA, de S&T Tewephone Company, (stiww in business today) wif de use of Motorowa radio tewephone eqwipment and a private tower faciwity, offered to de pubwic cewwuwar tewephone services in dat wocaw area of NW Kansas.

The first commerciawwy automated cewwuwar network (de 1G generation) was waunched in Japan by NTT in 1979. The initiaw waunch network covered de fuww metropowitan area of Tokyo's over 20 miwwion inhabitants wif a cewwuwar network of 23 base stations. Widin five years, de NTT network had been expanded to cover de whowe popuwation of Japan and became de first nationwide 1G network. Severaw oder countries awso waunched 1G networks in de earwy 1980s incwuding de UK, Mexico and Canada.

In de 1990s, de 'second generation' (2G) mobiwe phone systems emerged, primariwy using de GSM standard. In 1991, de first GSM network (Radiowinja) waunched in Finwand.

American and Canadian wirewess providers tend to subsidize phones for consumers but tend to reqwire 2 or 3-year contracts, whiwe Asians and Europeans seww de phone at fuww cost whiwe de mondwy fees charged are wower.[9]